As the nation continues to struggle with the opioid epidemic, many care providers are turning to an integrative approach to chronic pain. By either substituting or supplementing conventional opioid medications with non-drug therapies like acupuncture and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), medical professionals can often treat chronic pain more effectively. Besides lessening patients’ dependence on opioids, these therapies can also alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression. When incorporated into an integrative treatment strategy, acupuncture and TMS may accomplish results that prescription drugs cannot currently achieve on their own.
What Defines an Integrative Approach?
The National Institutes of Health describe integrative health care as an approach that synthesizes complementary medical treatments and therapies to improve a patient’s health and well-being. This form of medicine may sometimes, but not always, still involve prescription drugs. Most often, however, integrative approaches to medicine involve non-drug therapies and practices. After conducting much research, organizations ranging from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)[3] to the American College of Physicians and the Veterans Health Administration have recommended integrative approaches to pain management.
Acupuncture in Integrative Health Care
The body of research attesting to acupuncture’s effectiveness in treating chronic pain and fatigue continues to grow every day. As a provider of acupuncture therapy for back pain in Bryn Mawr and surrounding areas, we are deeply familiar with the wide range of benefits this treatment can provide. Besides offering a powerful non-drug therapy for pain, acupuncture also proves effective in the treatment of stress, depression, and other mood disorders. Research has also shown that positive emotion possesses a strong role in pain management[6], making acupuncture an even more potent treatment for chronic pain.
TMS in Integrative Health Care
At Yang Institute, we regularly incorporate TMS therapy in our treatment of patients that struggle with substance use, depression, and anxiety. Although TMS has not yet been approved by the FDA for the treatment of chronic pain, its ability to mitigate and alleviate mood disorders can help patients manage pain more effectively.[7] TMS remains an up-and-coming therapy with a growing body of research supporting its many benefits.
Integrative Medicine: The Eastern Way
In his book, Facing East, Dr. Jingduan Yang writes extensively about the benefits of integrative medicine. In fact, he notes that the Chinese approach to medicine embodies this philosophy: “Integrative medicine in the West frequently means borrowing from the best practices of different cultures . . . But from the perspective of Chinese medicine, this term really means integrating the care of one’s physiological, psychological, and spiritual health.”
When we treat conditions like anxiety at our Bryn Mawr, PA, Marlton, NJ, or NYC locations, we take every aspect of the patient’s health into consideration. To learn more about Yang Institute of Integrative Medicine or to schedule an appointment, call or contact us online today.
[1] https://iprcc.nih.gov/sites/default/files/HHSNational_Pain_Strategy_508C.pdf
[2] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm
[3] https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/NewsEvents/UCM557071.pdf
[4] http://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2603228/noninvasive-treatments-acute-subacute-chronic-low-back-pain-clinical-practice
[5] https://www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/pain/cot/
[6] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/good-feelings-in-the-midst-of-chronic-pain/
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5594801/
